Give Me Shelter, Be My Escape
by Bellarsam Chrisjulittle
Summary: Inspired by the Josh Groban song "River." After the traumatic events in Paris, Newt finds Tina at a very low point, trying to escape her guilt and worry. By remembering a kindness she had once done for him, he is able to return the favor - and erase all doubts from her mind about his feelings in the process.


As Newt Scamander climbed the ladder out of his suitcase, his limbs felt as heavy as stone. Today had been a _very_ long day indeed. When he lifted the lid of his case, the first thing that his eyes landed on was a chair, bathed in moonlight like a beacon in the dark sitting room. In an instant, his mind's filled with a memory from just the other morning: coming out of his case, which had been in exactly this same spot, and seeing Tina sitting in that chair, his book open in her hands. Just as quickly, the memory faded, and all Newt saw was the empty chair.

Sighing, Newt lifted himself out of the case as quietly as he could. Clearly, it was the middle of the night in Paris. However, it soon became apparent that somebody else in this house was awake. He saw what looked like candlelight coming from the kitchen, and he heard the sound of water being softly poured, perhaps from a teapot. His feet carried him towards the kitchen, his heart beginning to pound in his chest.

But when he came to the open doorway and saw who was pouring out a cup of tea, his heart calmed sadly. The slight, white and wizened figure of Nicholas Flamel turned from the stove to look at Newt. He smiled and opened the cupboard with his wand. "Cup of tea, Mr. Scamander?"

Not wanting to be rude, and not adverse to what he was offering, Newt swallowed his disappointment and nodded as he stepped into the kitchen. "Thank you, Mr. Flamel."

Once the two gentleman were companionably sipping a cup of tea each, it was Mr. Flamel who would speak first. "I hope that everything is in order down in your case?"

Newt nodded, touched that the man had asked. "Mercifully, the, um… _excitement_ of today affected them very little," Newt replied.

"Good," said Mr. Flamel. "I am glad to hear that. And I'm sure that you will be glad to hear that Mr. Kowalski and his lovely lady are peacefully asleep upstairs."

Newt nodded. He was indeed glad to hear that. The two of them had been through a lot, especially Queenie. "Well, I hope that they have a good and long rest. They certainly deserve at least that."

Mr. Flamel smiled, and there was the hint of a twinkle in his old eyes. "However, I am sure that it was neither them nor myself that you were hoping to find in here just now, was it?"

Caught off guard, Newt choked a bit on the tea he had been sipping, and tried to ignore how hot his cheeks and ears became. Blocking his view of Mr. Flamel with his fringe, he took another sip from his cup.

It was Mr. Flamel who broke the silence again. "She's not here, you know."

Newt's head came up so fast that Newt was surprised that his neck didn't snap. His eyes were wide, his skin went from hot to cold, and his heart began to race. "W-what?"

"She left about an hour ago." The (much) older man's voice was gentle, and it became firm when he held up a hand to keep Newt from speaking. "She didn't have her luggage with her, Mr. Scamander, so it wasn't permanently. She said that she only wanted to go out and…oh, what was the expression that she used…ah, yes, 'clear her head,' she said."

 _Clear her head…_ It hit him as suddenly as a spell. _Of_ course _that's where she would go!_ He turned fully to Mr. Flamel, who had been watching him with a touch of concern. "Tell me, please, what is the shortest route to the Seine River from here?"

* * *

Moments later, Newt was walking in the direction that Mr. Flamel had kindly pointed out to him. Thankfully, it was a pretty straightforward route to his destination. He had left his case, securely locked and warded, at Mr. Flamel's house. As Newt walked in the warm Paris night, a memory had once again filled his mind…

 _A few days after the capture of Grindelwald in New York, Newt and the Goldstein sisters were in his case. By now, the two women had become quite proficient in helping Newt with his creatures. It warmed his heart to see his creatures learn to trust new people, and to watch Tina and Queenie grow comfortable with them._

 _But melancholia was never far away from the little group. Jacob's absence was a gaping wound that wasn't spoken of but always felt. Another absence that Newt felt keenly was Frank's. When the melancholia became a bit too much, Newt had taken to just sitting in Frank's enclosure, drawing patterns in the orange sand with the toe of his boot._

 _That was where he was now. Lost in his own memories of Frank, he barely saw Tina and Queenie from the corner of his eye, and barely heard the hushed conversation between them. Only when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder did he look up through his fringe to find it was Tina. She had a gentle smile on her face._

" _I'm going to take a walk to clear my head," she said. "Would you join me?"_

" _Go on, honey," said Queenie, a few paces behind her sister. "I'll stay here with your case. Most everyone is asleep, anyway."_

 _After a moment, Newt nodded and rose to his feet, with a helping hand from Tina. He was too tired to think of any excuse and, to be perfectly honest, the idea of spending some time alone with Tina was…not unwelcome in the slightest._

 _Soon, they had climbed out of the case and tiptoed out of the apartment building (should Mrs. Esposito be home). It was twilight on this December evening in New York City, and thankfully it was quite mild. The city streets and sidewalks were crowded with people coming home from work or Christmas shopping. Newt and Tina held hands so that they wouldn't get separated. They walked like that for a long time, in silence that wasn't at all uncomfortable._

 _By the time the two of them had reached the Hudson river, night had truly fallen, and the number of people had considerably thinned out. Tina slowed their pace, her gaze on the water as they walked. Eventually, she stopped them at a spot between two street lamps, so that the two of them could stand in semi-darkness where anybody passing wouldn't notice them._

 _Tina let go of his hand (much to his disappointment) so that she could rest her forearms on the railing that would prevent them from falling into the river, folding her hands together in the process. Newt mirrored her actions, and followed her gaze to the moving body of water. Eventually, though, his gaze was drawn back to her._

 _Even in the semi-darkness, with only a view of her profile, Newt was entranced by the expression on her face. It was peaceful, an expression that he'd never seen on her face before. As she watched the river, taking even and deep breaths, Newt only wished that the light were stronger._

 _Wanting to know what was going through her mind to put that expression on her face, Newt broke the silence in the only way that he could: awkwardly._

" _So…I'm guessing that you come here often?"_

Merlin's beard! _He thought, wincing._ I sound like a desperate old warlock in a pub!

 _Thankfully, Tina didn't seem to mind his question. Though she didn't turn her head or her gaze, a small smile appeared on her lips as she spoke calmly, "Pretty often, yeah…there are some days when I feel so anxious or stressed that it literally gives Queenie a headache, so I would leave for a while…walking helps a bit, but what always did was the river…just walking along it, or watching it for a while…" She blinked, and then turned her head to look at him. "Do you know how to swim?"_

 _Surprised by the question, Newt immediately answered with the truth, "Yes, of course, why?"_

 _A sad tinge appeared in Tina's dark eyes. "Queenie and I didn't, really. I suppose we could tread water if we had to, but…we're city girls, who were orphaned young, so we never had the chance to learn properly."_

 _Newt could have kicked himself for his careless answer, but Tina didn't seem to take any offense. She turned back to watch the river before she continued._

" _There's a lovely lake near Ilvermorny, with a nice beach, too…in the first and last months of the school year, a lot of kids would swim there on the weekends…I wanted so much to join them sometimes…" She sighed. "Sometimes, when I've watched the river, I like to imagine myself swimming, or just floating, along with the current…" She gave a soft snort, which Newt found quite endearing. "I've even imagined myself as a mermaid a few times. Ridiculous, I know."_

" _Not at all!" Newt said hastily. "I've imagined myself a centaur, a hippogriff, and a dragon more times than I can count!"_

 _Tina was smiling when she turned her head to look at him again. She was so lovely when she smiled…Emboldened, he continued: "And, may I say, if you were a mermaid, you would most definitely be of the Grecian type that live in the Mediterranean. It's those merpeople that live in warmer waters that are the beautiful kind depicted in art and literature…"_

 _Newt's voice faded when he realized that he'd just implied that she was beautiful (which she was, he just hadn't meant to say it aloud). He turned his head to watch the river as his ears turned hot, hoping that he hadn't mucked up this lovely moment that they'd been sharing. He felt honored that Tina was confiding in him, that after everything that had happened she would do that, and the last thing he wanted was to ruin this moment with her._

 _Thankfully, he soon learned that he hadn't when Tina spoke again: "There are different types of mermaids? Would you tell me about them?"_

 _Newt looked at her again; she was still smiling, albeit shyly, and even in the dim lighting of the street lamps, he could see that she was blushing. Feeling like he'd been thrown a lifeboat in a storm, Newt gladly began speaking of the different types of merpeople known to exist around the world._

 _He felt sure that she would soon tire of hearing him talk, as most people did, but she didn't. She listened, she asked questions, and it was only when they realized how tired their feet were from standing so long that they hurried to a dark spot under a tree to apparate back to Tina's apartment…_

* * *

Newt was smiling to himself as he relived that memory. It was one that he had often revisited since he'd left New York, whenever he missed Tina (which was at least once a day). They'd had more talks like that in between then and his departure, but the intimacy of that first one by the river, just the two of them, had been truly special.

When Newt finally came to the river, he found the area deserted. It had been raining an hour ago, and the pavement gleamed with moisture under the light of the moon and streetlamps. Just as he began to wonder which direction along the river he should go, a sound that just caught his ear made that decision for him.

His years of experience in tracking magical creatures had made Newt's sense of hearing very keen. He doubted that most people would have heard it, especially if the air weren't so still after the rain. He turned right, following the current of the Seine, hoping that what he was hearing wasn't what he thought it was.

Unfortunately, his suspicions were proven right when a certain occupied bench came in sight. A familiar figure was sitting there, hunched over with her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

Newt stopped in his tracks, his heart twisting something terrible as he watched her. Looking at her like this, at her lowest low, he realized just how strong she was. She'd had to be strong ever since she'd been a little girl, when her parents had died. From that moment on, she'd put herself last, working so hard to protect her sister and to be the best witch that she could be. Merlin knows she wasn't perfect, she made her fair share of mistakes, but through it all she was a giver. Totally and completely, even if it meant taking nothing for herself.

When his own eyes became full of tears, Newt swiped them away with new determination. He had very nearly lost her, in the last few months and the last twenty-four hours, both from terrible miscommunication and a very dangerous wizard.

But no more.

So, Newt carefully approached her; Tina didn't seem to notice that she was no longer alone. Only when Newt had knelt on the wet pavement in front of her and softly said her name did she realize that. Her sobs immediately stopped, and her hands slowly dropped from her face. When her eyes recognized who it was, her already pale face turned white under her tears. "N-Newt?" she stuttered softly.

Newt answered by very gently taking his hands in his own and kissing both of them, never breaking eye contact with her.

His gesture of affection caused a spasm of pain to cross Tina's face before she spoke in a broken voice. "I'm…I'm so sorry…"

Newt's heart twisted again; this wasn't the first time that she had apologized to him. And he knew exactly what she was apologizing for. The miscommunication and misunderstanding had caused her to jump to some very wrong conclusions in the months that they had been apart. Now that Newt knew exactly what had happened – the letters that had gotten lost in his fan mail, the edited photograph that had been in all of the papers – he honestly couldn't blame her for thinking what she had thought.

"As I believe I've told you before, Tina, there is nothing for me to forgive." He held her hands tightly on her lap and pressed his forehead to hers. Keeping his gaze locked with hers – eye contact had never been quite so difficult with Tina as it was with other people – he tried to speak as reassuringly as he could.

"You're worn out, Tina…Please don't apologize for letting it all catch up to you…I know that's why you came here…Please, tell me what you're thinking…"

Tina's eyes shut tight and she shook her head slightly but quickly. "I'm trying to…I _want_ to…If I don't stop going over it all in my mind, I'll only hurt Queenie more than I already have when I go back…"

"Tina, you didn't let her down," Newt said firmly, rubbing her palms with his thumbs. "She is alive, and she is safe, and with Jacob she is happy. Queenie knows that is all you've ever wanted for her."

Tina gave a frustrated sigh, lifting a hand from his grasp to wipe her eyes angrily before fresh tears could fall. Then she looked at him with a plea in her eyes. "I'm not a bad person, Newt…I think that Jacob is a wonderful man, and that they are perfect for each other…Please understand that I was just scared for –"

"Of course I know that, Tina, and so do Queenie and Jacob," said Newt firmly. "Please stop thinking that we are angry with you, or that we think any less of you…Or that you have to face everything alone, Tina."

Her lower lip began to tremble, and Newt lifted his hands to gently cup her face as a new idea of how to help her came to him.

"You once told me that you walk down to the river to clear your head, and that you imagine it in different ways…what were you trying to imagine now?"

Trying to even out her breathing, still leaning her forehead against his, Tina replied softly, "…That I'm being pulled under the surface of the river, just enough to be completely submerged…It's calm underneath…I can only hear the soft roaring of the current in my ears…and it's carrying me along easily…Soon, the storm inside my head will have come out, and become part of the water, the waves and the current…The river shelters me until I know that the sun has come out again…only then will I come back up…when I know it's safe…"

While she had spoken, Newt had listened, gently stroking her cheekbones with his thumbs. After taking this scenario in, he spoke again: "That sounds quite pleasant, Tina. However…may I make a small addition to that?"

Confused, Tina said, "Ok."

Newt bravely met her gaze again and bravely asked, "May I be there with you?"

Tina's lips trembled again, but thankfully, the result was a small but sincere smile. "I'd like that," she said significantly, stroking his wrists. " _Very_ much, Newt."

Then, his heart as full as hers, Newt leaned forward and kissed her lips. If he'd had any fears that this action would be unwelcome, they were destroyed when Tina immediately responded with a sigh of relief. He kept the kiss gentle, though, knowing just how tired that they both were. That didn't make it any less heavenly, though.

When their lips had parted, Newt carefully got up from the ground and sat down on the bench close beside her. Putting his arm around her, he said to Tina, "We'll walk back when you feel ready."

Tina sighed with relief again, and gladly rested her heavy head on Newt's shoulder. Her gaze turned to the river, her eyes only closing each time Newt would kiss her head, forehead, or temple. Her own arm snaked behind him, wrapping around his waist.

Newt watched the river, too, honored to just be with her, knowing that she would do the same for him. In fact, she had, all those months ago in New York. And when she felt confident again that the sun would rise in the morning, he would walk her back to the safehouse. Maybe, she would let him lie with her for the good, long rest that they both needed.

But what Newt did know with certainty was this: when Tina would again feel the need to watch the river, he would never be the cause of it – he would be right there with her.


End file.
